


Ain't No Mountain High Enough

by notjustmom



Series: Pepperony [7]
Category: Iron Man (Movies), The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: F/M, Missing Scene, Mostly Fluff, Post-Avengers: Infinity War Part 1 (Movie), after Tony returns, bit of angst, established Tony Stark/Pepper Potts
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-07
Updated: 2019-05-07
Packaged: 2020-02-27 15:06:46
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,189
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18741502
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/notjustmom/pseuds/notjustmom
Summary: “I don't want learning, or dignity, or respectability. I want this music, and this dawn, and the warmth of your cheek against mine.”― Rumi, The Essential Rumi





	Ain't No Mountain High Enough

He hadn't asked her to dance since that night at the gala, when was it, over ten years ago, now? They had always been too busy, she with the running of Stark Industries, and he, with whatever it was he had been busy doing. It didn't seem to matter much anymore. He sighed impatiently out the window at the night sky and whispered roughly, "FRIDAY?"

"Boss?"

"Locate Ms. Potts, if you aren't otherwise occupied. Please."

"Yes, Boss. She is currently in her office. Shall I ask her to come up here?"

"If you wouldn't mind."

"Of course not, Boss."

Within a minute and a half Tony heard Pepper nearly running up the stairs then slowing her steps so he wouldn't know she was worried. "Tony?"

"Nothing's wrong. I was just wondering if you'd like to dance with me?"

He heard her breathing change, then she walked over to the sound system and fussed around a bit until she found what she was looking for. He closed his eyes as he heard the opening bars of music, then nearly jumped out of the wheelchair as she laid her hand over his. She knelt down in front of him and waited for him to open his eyes. 

"You will be okay. It will take time, but I know if you give yourself a break - no. I know. I know what's going on in your head. I know you, remember? What happened on Titan wasn't your fault, you found a way home, you found your way home to me. And yes, to answer your question, I'd love to dance with you, Mr. Stark." She looked him in the eyes, then slowly helped him to his feet and into her arms as the lyrics began:

 

"Listen baby, ain't no mountain high  
Ain't no valley low, ain't no river wide enough baby  
If you need me call me no matter where you are  
No matter how far don't worry baby  
Just call my name I'll be there in a hurry  
You don't have to worry

'Cause baby there ain't no mountain high enough  
Ain't no valley low enough  
Ain't no river wide enough  
To keep me from getting to you babe..."*

 

He leaned against her and let his head rest on her shoulder, then started, and drew back to look at her and watched as her eyes brightened at him. "Pep? Is there something I should know?"

"I wanted to wait to be sure everything was okay, I am a bit on the older side, and they ran a bunch of tests right before you came back, and they just called with the results, everything seems normal at this point."

He blinked at her, then whispered, "so the dream I had, about Morgan..."

"You were right, as usual. I have an appointment tomorrow morning, we should be able to hear the heartbeat for the first time. Will you come with me?"

"Of course, Pep, where else would I be?"

"It's just that there will be people and doctors, and -"

"Pepper. Don't you know?" He saw a look on her face that told him all that he needed to know. "I know, before, I wasn't always here for you when I should have been, and maybe you think - no, I'm not even sure what you think about me, right now, I wasn't even sure you'd be here when, if I got back. I want, all I want right now Pep, is to be with you, relearn you all over again, I want to listen to you babble about the stuff I should know about, and I know it's asking a lot of you, but will you please forgive me?"

Gently, she pulled him back into her arms and whispered, "what could you have done that I would need to forgive you for?"

"I left you - I didn't stay and make sure you were safe, I went off again as I always did, and I didn't know, Pep, I didn't know if you were still - when I lost Peter, I thought I had lost everything and then I realized what it meant on Earth, I realized it was possible that you were gone too, I didn't know you were okay until I got off the ship and you hugged me, I left you, Pep, and I -"

"Shhh... " She kissed him carefully as if afraid he would break, and he drew her closer and kissed her the way he had always meant to, as if he could tell her in a single kiss how precious and irreplaceable she was to him. He felt her tremble against him, then the tears began to fall.

"Pep?"

"Sorry. I wasn't -" She buried her face in his shoulder and wept as they slowly sank to the floor. He held her as the music changed to the next song:

"Oh, if I could build my whole world around you, darling  
First I'd put heaven by your side  
Pretty flowers would grow wherever you walk, honey  
And over your head would be the bluest sky  
Then I'd take every drop of rain  
And wash all your troubles away  
I'd have the whole world wrapped up in you, darling  
And that would be alright, oh yes it will..."*

and he leaned down closer and kissed her forehead, her nose, then her right cheek and stopped as she hiccupped and had to sit up. "I'm sorry, Tony, I never wanted you to know how hard it's been since you were gone."

He brushed the hair from her eyes and murmured, "why don't you help me from the floor, and we can go to bed, and you can tell me everything Pep, everything you've been afraid to tell me. I'm here, Pep. I'm home, and I'm not going anywhere without you two ever again. I -"

She laid a trembling finger over his lips and shook her head. "No more promises, Tony, hmm?"

"What if I promise no more promises?" He grinned at her sheepishly and she laughed out loud the way she used to for the first time since he'd been home. "Can we try dancing again tomorrow night, Ms. Potts?"

"Yes, Mr. Stark, I'd like that very much. But right now, it's time for bed."

"Whatever you say, Ms. Potts."

She narrowed her eyes at him, then hiccupped one more time and he couldn't help but laugh; he honestly couldn't remember the last time he had found something truly funny, until now. This brilliant, beautiful woman in his arms, this amazing woman who was going to have their child had started to hiccup because she had cried over him, she had saved up every tear and waited for him to come home, never intending for him to know. He blinked at her, then as her fingers lightly brushed away his own tears, he wondered, not for the first or last time, what she had ever seen in him to love him the way she did. She shook her head and carefully helped him to his feet, then wrapped her arm around his waist and half-carried him to their bedroom and closed the door behind them.

**Author's Note:**

> * "Ain't No Mountain High Enough", Ashford and Simpson
> 
> * "If I Could Build My Whole World Around You", Harvey Fuqua, Johnny William Bristol, Vernon Bullock


End file.
